The Other One
by knads98
Summary: I saw the way he looked at her. Peeta Mellark, The boy with the bread. But who am I? Gale Hawthorne, The Other One.
1. The other one

**OK, so this is the first fanfiction I have done for The Hunger Games EVER, So please bear with me. I know its really short at the moment but I am going to add longer chapters don't worry. Please review and whatnot. I really hope you enjoy! ****_READ ON! 3_**

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It was cold, but then again it always was in the Seam. Everyday I woke up, I would be shivering, and then the burden of my family would hit me. Everyday. Wake up. Hunt. Eat. Sleep. But at least there was Katniss. The only thing that kept me going through the harsh winters and sweltering summers. The days that lingered on pointlessly, but I was happy. I was happy with Katniss. My best friend, we always were.

I was always so scared for Katniss, she was so strong but there was something about her that put me on edge. Something about the way she protected everybody but herself. She didn't need protecting I know but I just felt like it was what I needed to do. Because I loved her. We would go into the forest every day at dawn, even on the days of the reaping, especially on the days of the reaping, to give each other the support that we so openly needed.

"There are 24 of us Gale, only 1 comes out" That's what she said to me, But I knew, I knew that she would be the one to come out. Just not with HIM. Never did it imagine him to come out with her, but he did and he took her away. No matter how resilient she was he just kept coming back. And then me, the _cousin._ The old friend that was no longer needed. Like an old toy. That's me.

Peeta Mellark, those words still sting. The boy with the Bread, The boy who was on fire, Katniss and Peeta. I had seen the way he looked at her, I knew there where feelings, but when his name was called out at the Reaping, I was strangely relieved. It was a sick way of having Katniss to myself. I wasn't even worried about her, in the arena. She was a Hunter, not a Killer, but I knew what she was capable of.


	2. Goodbyes

"Primrose Everdeen" those were the two words that changed everything. As soon as Effie Trinket, And her exaggerated, Capitol self spat those words into the microphone in her maniacally upbeat voice, that was it. There was no way Katniss was going to let Prim; Innocent little Prim, walk into that Arena. We'd seen what it did to people. Prim wouldn't have survived even the training.

It made it so much worse, her volunteering, I knew she would as soon as those ringing words echoed through my mind, but it gave her a purpose, something more to fight for. She won it for Prim. When I was allowed to see her after the Reaping, I didn't really need to think about what to say. I loved Katniss, I still do and I knew she had done what she thought was right. But there was a burning feeling in the pit of my stomach. Betrayal. How could she leave me? Alone, she was all I had. Me, Katniss and the woods. We only ever smiled in the woods.

"You can do this Katniss" I said to her, trying to appear strong. I couldn't show weakness, not now when she needed me most. "It's just a good game, thats all they want". Katniss Everdeen. My best friend, looked scared. I had seen that look in her eyes before, when we were kids standing at the mine, waiting for our fathers to emerge, but they never did. I couldn't help but wonder if Katniss would never emerge from the Games, if this was the last time we would be together...

She asked me to look after her family, her mum and Prim, that was all she had left. And that cat that she despised. I gave her my word through hidden tears, she was already giving up on herself, so soon on. The peacekeepers stood guard outside the doors, as if she were a prisoner, but I suppose she was; a prisoner of the games. An unwilling contender. But then again weren't they all?

When they finally came to take me away, we hadn't said our good-byes, I suppose that was the last time I ever saw her as the girl I knew. Not the girl on fire, not the Mockingjay. Just Katniss. I managed to mutter "I love you" as I was ushered out of the door forcefully, but I doubt she heard me, over the heavy heartbeats and the frantic breaths. But I said it, I said I loved her, and whether she heard me or not, I meant it.


	3. Emptiness

There was a lot of empty space without Katniss, A lot of lonely days. I didn't know how she was doing, it was just a guessing game. The few days after the reaping were the worst, everybody was talking about "District 12s very first volounteer", but Prim and I seemed to be the only ones who really understood the severity of what had happened. Katniss never was a prominent figure in District 12, but she was known. At all the other Reapings, names would be called out, and that would be that. No volunteering, no drama, but Katniss was different.

There was an eeriness in District 12, after the reaping, especially The Seam. The Hob was quieter, not it's bustling self. Even the animals in the woods seemed quietened. It wasn't the same hunting without Katniss, and she was all I had really. So I spent day after day wandering through the woods, half expecting to see her bow and arrow still standing against the rock by the stream. Half expecting to see her braid wisp behind a tree or hear her warm laugh echo through the trees, but I never did.

Her mum shut off again, she had never really recovered from losing her husband and then she was faced with the haunting concept of loosing her daughter. I knew there was nothing I could do, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't coax her out of her nightmare, Shut out from the world, leaving Prim alone. But Prim trusted me, she had always trusted me and I loved her too. I have never forgiven myself for what happened to her, little Prim, little duck.

There was nothing worse than knowing that Peeta was there, sucking up to Katniss. I had spent the past few years trying to reer her away from him, whenever I could. Didn't want anything to happen between them, but this was a situation I couldn't control, and there was no doubt that when she came out of the arena, she would be changed. I didn't however think that Peeta would take it that far, confessing his undying love for her on live television.

Ever since we were young, I had always liked her, even before we were friends, but I had known Peeta had too. I had kept my distance from both of them, never really spoke to either, but I always saw him gazing at her. When she sang at school, it was mesmerizing, I knew that we would be friends one day, I had always wanted to get to know her and one day perhaps more, but when she volunteered to go into the Arena for Prim, I knew, I just knew that was it.


End file.
